Monday, 30 August 2010

Has tweeting become an elite sport/vocation/business off-shoot? My blogging mate in South Africa, Steve Hayes of Notes from Undergound and Khanya, has hat tipped me on to Twitter Grader.

You can find out the best from the city in which you live, the country in which you live. That old Pro Blogger himself, Darren Rowse, is only coming second in Oz and in Melbourne. Takes the cake on followers but not on numerical tweets. Only so many hours in a day, I guess! And there's no prize for guessing the occupations of the majority of these high rollers, either! They are in businesses which demand that they be self-promoters and top tweeters!

I bet the Katter family get sick of it. I know I do. As a long time resident of the seat of Kennedy and someone who stood twice against Bob Katter Senior in that seat, I know how often people ask about the ethnicity of the Katters.

To-day I have visits to the this blog from people seeking just that information. Someone wanted to know if Bob Katter was Aboriginal. No. Another asked his "ethnicity". I have heard all sorts of suggestions in the past.

So let's settle it right here - hopefully (but I guess not) forever. The Katters are of Lebanese extraction. I will give you a couple of firm bases for this. Firstly, this newspaper article. The other is a local history program I heard on Radio National two or three years ago.

It was one of those programs one could hear on a Saturday afternoon - but the ABC does a few history programs so I can't recall the name of this one. It's major informant seemed to be Richard Anthony, a well known figure in Charters Towers. He mentions the Katters in that program.

You see, there was this marvellous extended Lebanese family. Richard described how his grandmother/aunts/mother used to cook for them all. It was a charming piece of little-known history. So - let me say it clearly - the Katters are Lebanese. No, they are not Aboriginal. No, they are not Syrian. No they are not descended from Afghan cameleers.

But all this was a few generations ago. The immersion of the Katters and their relatives in northern and western Queensland has been steep and deep. They are real identities, real locals there. They are - as we all are who voted on 21 August 2010 - Australian.

Let's not count the difference - albeit we may have political ones. Let's just rejoice in the fact that Australian soil absorbs us all and turns each of us into something unique - if we let it.

Networkers, in case you think my proposal (which you will find here) to give all elected representatives an open Parliamentary forum, without a vote, to discuss how they see Parliament operating, look at what is happening now.

With all that is going on, we might as well put Parliament on the ebay and sell out to the highest and most convenient bidder.

At least Adam Bandt has been clear. Wilkie is becoming clearer. Crook, almost certainly, will not support Labor. So that much is clear. The three country independents were/are full of good intentions - but the constant media coverage of their doings and thinkings was bound to get up the nose of some and turn others green with envy at all that gratuitous publicity.

Why then can we not hear from one and all

of those elected to the Australian Parliament

in a dignified and coherent manner in a legitimate forum?

Australia and the way we are governed risks being brought into disrepute - as if we can roll a dice here, seek some undertakings there, get to the bureaucratic briefing bottom of things and it will all turn out OK.

The situation is beginning to look like a parliamentary two-up game - but I don't think this game is going to favour either the house or the spectators. The players are have an all-in while the pennies could be weighted and the kip skew-iff - and all in the hands of a dodgy tosser.

The report calls for numerous changes to the way Australia deals with ‘entrenched discrimination’. One Committee Member, Patrick Thornberry, referred to, “structurally embedded discrimination in the way the Aboriginal intervention was being handled in the Northern Territory.”

The report calls for the full reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) in the Northern Territory in a manner which ensures that the Act will “prevail over all other legislation which may be discriminatory on the grounds set out in the Convention”.

This morning, in an email marked 9.10am, I have received a reply. How about that for speed from your local MP! Not only did I receive a speedy reply. I received a reply in which his own opinion was expressed - not ambiguous, bob each way, mealy mouthed wording. No! I received a reply expressing a point of view intelligently and intelligibly. Thanks, Mike. I know I did the right thing in voting for you.

Now, while I take Mike's point, I am not sure I altogether agree with him. I am a sort of "where there is a will there is a way" girl. And - because there is no vote in the situation I am asking for - I don't think there is much in the way of breaching of the constitution. And I am only asking for it when results are known - so it could be held as first cab off the rank after the opening of Parliament. The letter is published below.

The wisdom and knowledge (or lack of both?) behind the Brumby Governmen'ts management of water resources is in question once again. My own view is that Brumby and his mob fell for the great desal sell. The government is still a boys club in the main and boys like techy toys. What better techy toy than the fifth biggest desalination plant in the world? And for signing up I am sure we will find there are post-politics benefits for the major political and bureaucratic players? After all, if the Brumby government can put a representative of a major water industry player on to a State Government water authority i.e. Coliban Water, things can always work the other way around, don't you think?

Trouble is Brumby and the mob can't tell good advice when they see it. They are blinkered to polls and trying to obtain the least level of reaction among the voters. Certainly they did not want to listen to the bright sparks of Watershed Victoria, the Basscoast Boardriders Club, and Clean Ocean Foundation. And they didn't even want to take notice of their very own environmental information.

The Victorian Water Act has been around since the 1880s and provides secure water supplies for agriculture and for our towns and cities. But it doesn’t provide the same security for the state’s rivers and groundwater, which have become stressed and degraded.

Come and hear about our recommendation to improve the Act to provide greater security and reliability for environmental water, so that we can rescue our rivers and return them to health.

Friday, 27 August 2010

I give you a scenario, Networkers. Tony Abbott is the emperor - clad in white toga, wreath of olive leaves and all. There he is sitting above the arena. The mob are all around. The gladiators are doing what it is that gladiators need to do down in the arena.

Abbott the emperor has to make a decision -

thumb up, thumb down.

I am beginning to suspect that Abbot will give a dumb-thumb down decision.

I don't think the Liberals want an inclusive, warm and fuzzy model of government.

I don't think the Liberals are into information sharing.

I certainly don't think the Liberals want consensus government.

You see there is another little-covered option in the hung parliament situation. This is the option of game wrecker, mayhem maker.

At this stage, I hold the view that Abbott and his Liberals are certainly leaning to - if not actually have chosen - the option of wreckage. This means that unless the Liberals have a clear shot at government - and we know that if they get that now, then it will only be held until 1 July 2011 - they will make all the trouble that is needed to get Australians back to the polls.

In short, it is likely that Abbot & Co have chosen destabilization even at this stage. If this is the case, then it could equal Gough Whitlam's concept of "crash through or crash" in zest, hubris, and bloody-mindedness.

Australia now faces an unstable, raucous and barren politics—“like two dogs barking”, as one of the independents put it. Sometimes countries get along just fine without a strong central government. But the states in federal Australia have increasingly seen the centre sap their power on issues such as health care. Moreover, Australia needs sooner or later to address several vital areas of policy.

One is climate change, where the majority’s wish for a bill is being blocked by the minority (including Mr Abbott). Another is immigration, where a debate about the economy’s need for skills and its capacity for a “big Australia” is obscured by scaremongering about refugees on boats. And a third is economics, where Australia needs to work out how to tax its abundant resources and deploy the revenues to build infrastructure and human capital in the rest of the economy.

Sadly, the politicians are not tackling these questions, and voters are duly unimpressed. Australia can muddle through for a bit. But unless its politicians take off their hats and get to work within the next 12 months, another poll beckons.

Here in Victoria our ALP government has had strong contacts with Suez and Veolia. In fact, a subsidiary of Veolia, until last year ran Melbourne's trains. As for Suez, they are building and will run as part of a consortium called Aquasure a desalination plant near Wonthaggi. It will be the fifth largest in the world. Australia's relationship with these two corporations does not extend back as far a France's. They have had about 150 years of Suez and Veolia experience and we are just beginning. 'Tis a pity that we don't learn from the experiences of others, don't you think?

In Victoria, our water is not yet in the hands of the water corporations. Our water boards are, however, corporatised and ready to go very quickly should the government so decide. The government is the No. 1 & Only shareholder of these corporations and does not table balance sheets in the Victorian Parliament.

In fact, for one water board, the government is allowing a major corporation, namely Veolia, an inside run. You see a Veolia executive, David Beard, sits on the board of Coliban Water. How easy would it be, do you think, for this person to make a professional assessment of current government thinking and future government directions for water? How easy would it be, do you think, for this person to push his company's views and offerings up the pipeline to government?

Clearly the Brumby Government in Victoria couldn't give a fig for being seen to be accountable and transparent and keeping more than an arm's distance away from corporates with vested interests in getting the government's attention and its contracts. And I see no elected representative - not the Liberal Party; not the Greens; not the Independent, Craig Ingram; not the Democratic Labor Party - holding the Australian Labor Party and Coliban Water to account in this matter. Veolia has done business in the past with Coliban. It is likely to do so in the future. As I said, an inside run if ever I saw one. And if water and waste-water contracting was a horse race, can you guess which horse would be the likely bet?

Languages other than English do not travel well in Australia. Most support comes from people who have migrated to this country from elsewhere who gain recognition for their native languages through the curriculum. In short, there are migrant communities who work to continue their native languages in a foreign land. If you are an Australian who wants to learn French, German, Indonesian etc., this can depend upon where you live and the status of the high school you attend.

But you would think we might take better care of Australian languages - wouldn't you? We don't. It has amazed me that whitefellas go to the Northern Territory to live and yet don't bother to explore the local Aboriginal language. Yet I am quite certain that should the same people go to live for a year or two in Rome, Italy they would try to pick up, at the very least, a basic working knowledge of Italian!

Just as the migrant communities work to sustain their languages, so Aboriginal communities in the NT work, amidst controversy, to sustain their languages. It was considered groundbreaking when bi-lingual education came into practice for Aboriginal students. The topic of indigenous languages in the school room is, many years on, still controversial.

I ask Networkers, particularly those of Celtic origin, to recall the intrinsic connection between language and culture. I also ask that people consider what happens to language under the conqueror. Scotland, Wales, and Ireland suffered greatly under the English policies of eradication of Gaelic in these countries. Nationalist movements have revived Irish, Welsh, and Scottish languages - but this is not an easy task and much is lost, not only in language but in culture.

Do we want such language eradication to occur in Australia? Over 250 Aboriginal languages were spoken in Australia prior to white settlement. See here for details. This number has dropped to 145 with 110 of those regarded as endangered. Needless to say, more remote Aboriginal communities are more likely to have a vibrant language culture. More details here.

Please click on "Read more" below which will jump to extensive details of speakers and topics. Particularly interesting, is the precis of what Joseph Lo Bianco will have to say.

How do we keep our democracy alive, well and in ship-shape fashion to serve the people of Australia and the generations ahead in the best possible way? Democracy has altered across the centuries. Influential barons of one sort or another have bullied kings and sovereigns of one sort or another. Civil and international wars have wrought havoc and resulted in something more progressive than human slaughter arising from the ashes. Democracy is very much like a garden - it needs tending. It needs to be nourished and nurtured. Some wise pruning is required from time to time. And certainly strong and creeping weeds need to be kept out.

I write this because I am concerned that there are only a handful of people currently critiquing our democracy. There are the three country independents (CIs), the Green Adam Bandt, and Andrew Wilkie. Well, Andrew Wilkie is a maybe at this stage. He certainly does not favour the bloc behaviour of the CIs. It has only just become clear that he will win the seat of Denison and he gives every appearance of keeping his powder dry at the moment.

Now, let me be clear. I have no objection to the CIs or any other independent or quasi-independent maximising their opportunities for their electorates in the shadow of a hung Parliament. I think this is a responsible course of action.

As part of the wider electorate whom the members of the House of Representatives and the Senators of the Senate purport to serve, we should be considering our situation too. We made our judgment for good or ill last Saturday. We have given a result which requires grave consideration and a bit of working through. Part of the working through is discussion about the state of our democracy. But I ask you, Networkers, have you considered who is doing the talking?

There are people in the Senate who could speak - but we aren't hearing from them. They have freedom to speak - but, if they are commenting intelligently, I don't hear them. I am thinking particularly of Senator Nick Xenophon - a true independent from South Australia - and Senator Steve Fielding who represents Family First but is their only member in the Australian Parliament. So I would really like to hear the views of Senators Xenophon and Fielding on the state of our nation and our democracy.

So I have a proposal, Networkers. I have, in the last 24 hours, emailed various members and Senators with the letter below. It outlines what I propose. I am publishing it in the hope that people might use it as a basis or a starting point for devising and writing their own letters to the politicians they wish to influence. I hope you agree with the sentiment expressed and I would appreciate your comments. I am particularly interested in hearing from you if you think you can improve on my idea. But do keep it simple.

I write to express concern that only a few people are passing comment on the state of our nation and its democracy. My view is that all elected representatives ought to have the opportunity to express their views on our system of government and how it might serve us better.

To this end, my suggestion is that when the ballot is declared by the AEC, the Prime Minister – either Gillard in caretaker mode – or whoever is Prime Minister in his or her own right – should convene Parliament for a debate on the state of our nation and our democracy. This debate could be along lines similar to a conscience vote debate with one exception – no vote at the end. People from all sides of politics could be given the opportunity to operate as Acting Speaker. There would be some additional very clear rules: no name calling; no blame gaming; no axe grinding.

I want to hear from all our elected representatives. I want an intelligent all inclusive debate. What a good start to the Parliamentary term, in the Reps and in the Senate, that might be.

I hope you can give the suggestion some consideration and, if you are in agreement, find a way to promote the idea to a wider audience.

Networkers who come here regularly will know what I am talking about: Jason (and his helpers) repeatedly attempting to hand out political propaganda on the Belgrave Line and being continually rebuffed and called to order by Metro rail staff. You will find relevant posts here, here, and here.

There has been much interest in these posts - even post-election. I don't know if Jason, his staff, his helpers, or his party ever visited, but if they had seen the last link they will have seen the regulation which Jason and his helpers had breached.

Now it appears that Jason is a serial offender and one is left to conclude that he is dumb or considers himself above and beyond the law.

Alex is apologetic that his missive is not more extensively researched and says

that this represents his'preliminary investigations' into Bob Katter

and his views on the NT Intervention.

~~~~~

So, it appears thatBob Katter is actually against the NT Intervention.

Historically, he is 'pro self-determination' in a self-responsibility kinda way. He is also against privatisation in regional areas, for market failure purposes. These two ideologies clash to some extent i.e. how can you take control of your own life, if you are starved of basic services?

Katter is regarded as being a progressive advocate when he was Aboriginal Affairs minister. At a press conference yesterday, Katter told reporters to find the two books in which he is mentioned in the university reading guides from when he was Aboriginal Affairs Minister in Queensland in the 80s.

Basically, he is saying that he is prepared to fight for his ideas.

What does this all mean? Hard to say.

Two of the Independents are now on record as being against the Intervention (I'd guess that Wilkie is likely to be against it too).

It will only matter if we can get the NT Intervention onto the national agenda as a racist policy that needs to be stopped NOW. Which is why continuing the grassroots activism is the most useful thing we can do.

creative commons

Welcome to The Network

Thank you for dropping by! I do hope you come to The Network on a regular basis. to ensure that you keep up with what is now and happening on The Network.

The Network is a blog of progressive political and social comment --- with an occasional spice of spirituality thrown in for flavour.

The Network comes from the life experiences of Miss Eagle - otherwise known as Brigid O'Carroll Walsh. Brigid has a wide range of experience in politics, trade unions, corporates, and government. Her environmental interests are in water, land, food and waste. She wishes she knew more about soil, birds, and plants.

Brigid lives on the land of the Wadawurrung people of the Kulin Nation. The Creator Spirit of the Kulin peoples is Bunjil, the Wedgetail Eagle. Brigid wishes to express her gratitude to The Creator for the land in which she lives and the environment in which she has been placed.